Mental Health and Disorders

News about mental health and disorders, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 23, 2015

Misophonia, in which certain ordinary sounds offend or irritate the listener, presents special challenges to a primary care physician. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Op-Ed article by psychiatrist Christine Montross expresses support for crafting new model of long-term psychiatric institutionalization, noting that mentally ill and mentally disabled are failed by current system in which they are either incarcerated or kept in medical hospitals and nursing homes; argues that modern asylums, if established and run properly, could address needs of variety of patients in much better way than current system allows. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Connecticut releases draft report of recommendations for preventing school shootings, over two years after Adam Lanza's deadly attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown; recommendations include gun control measures and policies aimed at improving mental health services. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Report from Vera Institute of Justice concludes that majority of people held in America's jails are those too poor to post bail or too ill with mental health problems or drug addiction to care for themselves; report also finds that most were sent to jail for relatively minor infractions. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Editorial praises Congress for unanimously passing measure to improve suicide prevention and mental health treatment for veterans; observes legislation is aimed at a very real problem, with estimated 22 veterans killing themselves daily; urges Congress to carry out law with same bipartisan spirit, and go on to address issues of veteran unemployment and homelessness. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Senate unanimously passes bill aimed at improving suicide prevention and mental health care for veterans; passage of bill, named for Clay Hunt, veteran who killed himself in 2011, represents rare moment of bipartisan agreement. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Chirlane McCray, wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, unveils plans for a comprehensive review of mental health in New York City that will be conducted by city's health department and partners; reveals her own family's extensive struggle with mental illness to frame issue. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

T M Luhrmann Op-Ed article highlights British Psychological Society report about symptoms of mental illness that dovetails with change to how National Institute of Mental Health is approaching mental disorders; observes that both approaches suggest that mental illnesses should be treated with social interventions, not just drugs. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

Roger Cohen Op-Ed column reflects on his family's history of immigration, in which the last four generations have emigrated to new countries and claimed them as home, and how it is intertwined with history of mental illness and depression. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Ron Lieber Your Money column examines research about problems adolescents in wealthy families face in light of report that 30-year-old Thomas Gilbert Jr shot his hedge fund manager father Thomas Gilbert after argument about his allowance; notes that research suggests affluent children are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Pico Iyer describes discovering benefits of pairing healthy diet and exercise with devotion to mental health; holds that allowing for quiet time has improved his inner life. MORE

Jan. 3, 2015

Mentally ill inmate Fabian Cruz is found dead inside his cell in Rikers Island Prison with bedsheet wrapped around his neck; suicide highlights dysfunction that continues to pervade the jail even as New York City officials work to fix it; Justice Department has filed lawsuit against the city for widespread abuse and neglect of inmates. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

British suicide-prevention group The Samaritans face backlash with web application that alerts users to Twitter postings that contain phrases that signal mental distress, and later disable app; critics say analyzing social media activity for signs of mental health conditions amounts to quackery; researchers and psychologists who are studying issue say they will proceed as cautiously and transparently as possible with developing such diagnostic tools. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

New York State Office of Mental Health agrees to grant memorial on grounds of Willard State Psychiatric Hospital in upstate New York for Lawrence Mocha, gravedigger who hollowed out more than 1,500 unmarked graves for fellow patients; it is latest development in disagreement between agency and volunteer group Willard Cemetery Memorial Project about state law governing privacy of patients with mental illnesses, even postmortem. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Experts say there is no evidence to suggest that Ismaaiyl Brinsley was mentally ill or political activist, but he may have used deaths of Garner and Brown to justify his attack on two New York City police officers; note that most lone attacks on police are rooted in anger with establishment and authority. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

American citizen identifying himself as Arturo Pierre Martinez holds news conference in North Korean capital of Pyongyang, offering legnthy criticism of the United States; says he entered North Korea illegally, and will seek asylum in Venezuela; Martinez's mother warns that her son suffers from bipolar disorder. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Editorial supports New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan for cutting number of mentally ill people in jail; notes that effort will prove challenging and require tactics like establishing supportive housing for mentally ill; holds that plan, if successful, will improve lives of mentally ill people by providing treatment and housing and freeing them from cycle of lockup and release. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Calvin Peters, Brooklyn man who was shot to death by police after stabbing a rabbinical student in Crown Heights, had long and troubled history with bipolar disorder before attack; Peters had been arrested for assault in 2006 after going off his medication, and may not have been taking it in period before fatal encounter. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Manhattan man Christian Falero is found guilty on all charges in 2011 murder of two neighbors; had claimed insanity, but prosecutor argued that he was drug addict and had feigned mental illness. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Police officers who were called when emotionally disturbed man Calvin Peters stabbed student inside Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters responded appropriately to situation and followed training; scenario of mentally unstable person threatening others is common and officers, who cannot always judge person's mental state, must act to protect themselves and others nearby. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Human Rights Watch reports that women and girls with intellectual disabilities or mental illness in India are subject to forced institutionalization, abuse and medication and medical procedures, like electroconvulsive therapy, without consent. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Three-judge panel of United States Court of Appeals in New Orleans stays execution of Texas prisoner Scott Panetti, who shot his wife's parents to death in 1992, saying court needs more time to weigh larger mental health issues in case; Panetti's lawyers argue he suffered from schizophrenia for more than 30 years. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Editorial cites comprehensive study by Connecticut's Office of the Child Advocate that finds Adam Lanza's deteriorating mental illness, as well as his 'unfettered' access to firearms, were both factors leading to 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School; holds report trounces gun lobby's argument that such massacres are solely the result of uncontained mental illness. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announces ambitious $130 million plan to divert non-violent, mentally ill offenders out of courts and into supervised release system; plan includes training police officers to spot signs of mental illness, expansion of current supervised release program and systematic screening at central booking office. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration announces plans to significantly expand public health services in effort to reduce growing number of prison inmates with mental health and substance abuse problems; officials say goal is to break revolving door of arrest, incarceration and release by emphasizing treatment over punishment for minor crimes. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Lawyers for convicted Texas murderer Scott Panetti argue before Supreme Court that executing him would be unconstitutional, as he has been mentally ill for over three decades; case has drawn national attention as test for issues surrounding execution of mentally ill criminals. MORE

Nov. 30, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Eugenia Bone notes that psilocybin, drug derived from psychoactive mushrooms, is finally being re-examined for its medical applications, such as treating psychological orders like depression; describes his own positive experience with psychoactive mushrooms; calls for rescheduling drug so that it will be easier to conduct research on its effects; cites study published in Journal of the Royal Society. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

Rev Matt Brogli, Southern Baptist pastor in North Carolina, is among growing number of evangelical clergy members sending mentally troubled congregants to secular professionals; are trying to change idea prevalent among conservative Christians that psychiatric disorders are proof of demonic possession or sign that the person had fallen in God's eyes. MORE

Nov. 28, 2014

Dan Barry This Land column on gravedigger Lawrence Mocha, who was buried under an anonymous numbered marker on grounds of New York's Willard State Psychiatric Hospital in 1968; notes some 55,000 patients have been buried under such markers at psychiatric institutions across state, and advocates want to see numbers linked to names of deceased; says state officials have refused efforts, citing laws protecting privacy of psychiatric patients. MORE

Nov. 28, 2014

Advertising column; Philosophy, beauty brand owned by Coty, introduces new effort to raise projected $10 million to combat mental illness; campaign Hope & Grace Initiative, which will donate 1 percent of sales, highlights brand's long use of inspiring and uplifting sentiments. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Editorial labels four-decade trend of mass incarceration one of greatest threats to American public health of all time; says mental health care and substance abuse programs, along with end of punitive drug laws, could end epidemic of incarceration that is futilely sending millions of Americans to jail; calls on public health professionals to seize critical opportunity to help guide criminal justice reform on state and national level. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Editorial condemns planned execution in Texas of murderer Scott Panetti, who has shown himself to be mentally incompetent by any reasonable standard; holds case represents an egregious miscarriage of justice, and exemplifies how Texas and other stubborn states have found loopholes in Supreme Court's 2007 ruling on what constitutes mental illness in capital cases. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Report by Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate is first to make in-depth study of medical history of Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people in 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting; finds that, despite efforts by medical experts, Lanza's medical and psychological ailments went completely untreated in years and months before shooting; concludes that Lanza's mother Nancy was inclined to accommodate his disabilities rather than treat them. MORE

Nov. 18, 2014

Psychologist Cheryl Paradis appears for defense in murder trial of Christian Falero, who fatally stabbed two of his neighbors and wounded two others in Manhattan in 2011; Paradis testifies that Falero was acutely psychotic at time of events, supporting insanity defense. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Steadily rising number of American families face dilemma of whether to let children take multiple psychotropic drugs to temper their troublesome behavior; many experts worry that use of multiple psychotropics in youngsters has not been explored fully; there is also debate over whether database that lists patients' adverse drug reactions reliably monitors risks of psychotropic drug combinations. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Alina Tugend Shortcuts column discusses challenges employees with mental disabilities might face if they decide to tell their employer or supervisor about their illness; tips on what to consider before sharing psychiatric condition noted. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

Study in journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests military doctors could reduce suicides among soldiers with psychiatric conditions by using new screening system; computer model identifies a range of factors related to suicide that could allow doctors to follow high-risk soldiers closely and take preventive measures. MORE

Nov. 11, 2014

Op-Ed article by psychiatrist Stephen Seager examines epidemic of violence in hospitals for the criminally insane, attributing trend to shocking amount of freedom granted to patients; holds state hospitals are ill-prepared to deal with dangerous and violent persons, and are restricted by an expanded notion of patients' rights that has triumphed over common sense and safety. MORE

Nov. 1, 2014

New York City reaches $2.25 million settlement with Alma Murdough, whose mentally ill son Jerome Murdough died on Feb 15 in an overheated cell at Rikers Island Prison Complex; case has come to exemplify the many shortcomings of city jails and the criminal justice system at large. MORE

Oct. 24, 2014

Research published in journal Depression and Anxiety suggests that higher rates of mental problems are rooted in the rigors of military service, not in the loosening of enlistment standards; finds early treatment of mental health symptoms could help avert problems later on. MORE

Oct. 20, 2014

Gov Andrew M Cuomo defends New York State law known as the Safe Act that has made it easier to take guns away from people deemed mentally unstable; Cuomo pushed for gun law, which also bans assault weapons, after mass shooting in Newtown, Conn; Cuomo's statements follow campaign speech in the Bronx that was interrupted by protesters. MORE

Oct. 19, 2014

Database of New Yorkers deemed too mentally unstable to carry firearms has grown to roughly 34,500 names; database was established in aftermath of mass shooting in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn; size of database has raised concerns among some mental health advocates that too many people have been categorized as dangerous. MORE

Oct. 11, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Eric Kester recalls his time as 17-year-old ball boy for 2003 Chicago Bears and role he played in both amplifying and covering up acts of on-field violence; notes brain damage caused by high-impact collisions leads to aggression and dementia in players; contends while such injuries do not excuse sexual and other violence committed by players, connection should be examined and discussed. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

Henry Wachtel, charged in 2012 murder of his mother Karyn Kay in Manhattan, is allowed to enter plea under which he will be released from custody and transferred to a private inpatient psychiatric treatment center; prosecutors and defense lawyers say he did not understand his actions because he was in an altered state brought on by an epileptic seizure. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

The Appraisal column; Francis J Greenburger, New York City real estate developer, discusses plans to open Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, 25-bed facility offering alternative to incarceration for mentally ill in New York metropolitan area; Greenburger's interest in his latest commercial real estate project grew from his experience with mentally ill son, now serving five-year prison sentence for arson. MORE

Oct. 6, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof Margo Kaplan contends that laws addressing pedophilia should be shifted from punishment to treatment; holds current laws fail to address condition until after commission of a crime; notes pedophilia is a recognized mental disorder and that those who suffer from it can learn to manage urges and avoid crime through a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication. MORE

Oct. 5, 2014

News analysis; overlooked aspect in debate over privacy and the Internet is the psychic toll of lack of privacy; privacy research in both online and offline environments has shown that just the perception of being watched results in feelings of low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. MORE

Oct. 3, 2014

Justice Department opens criminal investigation into death of Michael Anthony Kerr, North Carolina inmate with mental illness who died of thirst after being held in solitary confinement for 35 days. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

California Gov Jerry Brown signs into law measure that makes it the first state to allow private citizens to ask a court to seize guns from family members who they believe pose a threat to themselves or the public; legislation was introduced in direct response to shooting in Isla Vista by Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and wounded more than a dozen others. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"","query":"","search_query":"subject:\"Mental Health and Disorders\" OR subject:\"Depression (Mental)\" OR subject:\"Phobias\" OR subject:\"Schizophrenia\" OR subject:\"Anorexia Nervosa\" OR subject:\"Bulimia\" OR subject:\"Eating Disorders\" OR subject:\"Bipolar Disorder\" OR subject:\"Hoarding\" OR subject:\"Hypochondria\" OR subject:\"Multiple Personalities\" OR (subject:\"Suicides and Suicide Attempts\" AND news_desk.contains:\"Health\")","num_search_articles":"10","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":false,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"","more_on_header":"","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}